brooke, thanks very much. we're counting down the final seconds of trading on wall street where the dow -- listen to it -- it's ending right now on a record high. listen to the bells.

topping the previous milestone, look at this, 14,254. that's not necessarily the final number but it is a high. cnn's business chief correspondent ali velshi and christine romans, they are all standing by. but let's go over to alison kosik. she's over at the new york stock exchange. alison, what's the reaction? >> what's funny is as ex siding as the headlines make this out to be, making hirs history today, despite all of that, i just didn't see the excitement on the floor today. no confetti, no cheers. and it's really the numbers that tell the story. when you look at the board at the other numbers, the volume of trading that happened here on the floor today, the volume of trades is very low. usually when the markets get to

the knnew highs, you see the volume but it's really lacking the excitement. no doubt about it, it's a huge milestone even though much of the rally is being fed by the federal stimulus. $85 billion is being pumped into the economy. what's that doing is pushing interest rates lower and it's essentially moving investors from the bond market right into the stock market where really it's the best game in town to make money. now, skeptics know that the fed isn't going to keep juicing the economy forever. it's a big part of the reason we didn't see the champagne bottles popping today. the mood is very different today compared to where we were when we were at this level back in 2007. traders on the floor are pretty sarcastic about the excitement about this, wolf. >> hold on a second, alison. i want to bring in christine romans. there seems to be a disconnect between the state of the economy and the state of wall street. >> there's a the lo of

conflicting signals, a lot of theatrics in washington. what's happening is the dow is 30 stocks. those 30 stocks are representative of what is happening for those 30 companies. a lot of cash on the books, a lot of money and profit coming from overseas so that's why they are seeing that. your 401(k) probably more represented by the s&p 500. that's 500 different stocks. but remember, wolf, 53% of americans, according to the most recent gallup poll on this, own stock. say they are exposed to the stock market. a lot of people say, this means nothing for me. i don't have a job or not comfortable in my job so this is really symbolic for the investing class, not necessarily for main street, wolf. >> let me bring in ali. there seems to be a disconnect

wall street and what's going on here in washington. the forced spending cuts, the deadline making sure that the government does not shut done. a debt ceiling needs to be raised pretty soon. so what's going on? would any of those issues devalue this rally? >> with the forced budget cuts going into effect, the fed puts $85 billion or thereabouts into the economy every single month. that's the money they print. take a look at this. christine was talking about the people not affected by this. 53% of people own stocks. the other 47% do benefit. this is a chart of job creation since the beginning of 2009. these are companies. this is private sectors hiring people. it's not been like the stock market where the stock market has gone sort of like this. the job market has kind of sputtered around a little bit but these jobs are coming from the private sector and that, back to your question, is where the problem comes in. we've seen layoff notices going

out, furlough notices going out. with the job creation around here, you could start to see that go down while the stock market continues its surge forward. that's the disconnect. there's a disconnect between the economy which more people think of as jobs and gdp, plus the stock market and what the government is doing. >> ali, christine, alison, thanks very much. much more coming up later. but there's other news we're following, including the treacherous driving conditions right now on midwest roads and the mid-atlantic region, including right here in nation's capital, washington, d.c. next in line, a major winter storm is blasting eastward and for millions and millions of people in its path, this will be their biggest snowfall of the season. our meteorologist, alexandra steel is at the severe weather center. but first let's go to cnn ted rowlands. the snow is already falling. what's the expectation there, ted? >> reporter: wolf, it's been snowing all day.

the wind has picked up creating more problems. this storm is hammering much of the midwest. across the upper midwest, driving was treacherous as snow continued to fall throughout the day. salt trucks in chicago were out in force trying to keep the freeways open before the evening commute. in some parts of north dakota and minnesota, more than a foot of snow is expected to fall. airports are struggling to keep planes flying at o'hare where about 900 flights have been canceled, the normally packed united terminal was near empty tuesday. fashion designer mark da fan is trying to get home to charlotte to deal with a family emergency. >> they said it was canceled a he i got a ticket to the flight and now it says canceled. now i have no idea which flight i'm going to go on. hopefully i get on a plane and go home. i want to go home badly. >> reporter: most schools and many businesses were closed in

chicago on tuesday. those having to come into the city are having a tough time getting around. >> these streets are okay but when you go on the interior streets, they are really bad. >> reporter: this is the third storm to slam the midwest in as many weeks and a few people actually say they like this. >> i'm a skier, so what more could you ask snl. >> reporter: most people, wolf, don't like it. you see these people walking across the chicago river. the commute has just started and it's going to be an ugly night tonight. >> not only there but other places as well. ted, thank you. let's get our forecast from meteorologist alexandra steel. what is going on? >> it moves to the ohio valley, six to eight inches, and then we're going to watch it move. here's the area of low pressure. here's the time line on it. it becomes a mid-atlantic game

player. that's when we'll see the snow, in washington, baltimore, d.c. has only had an inch and a half of snow so far for the season. biggest of the season, no doubt about it. but then as we head from tomorrow into thursday, watch what happens wednesday night as it exits out of washington but then this area of low pressure climbs the coast a little bit and it's all about the track of the low. the area of low pressure that we're seeing now shifts a little bit, becomes a coastal low. maybe new york to boston on thursday, a slushy one to three inches of snow. that's about it. but the track is key with this. so from now through thursday, 8 to 12 inches through the ohio valley and then again it becomes a washington affair. what's so cool about washington, in washington potentially four to eight inches. go 25 miles east to annapolis, one to three potentially, if

that. go 25 miles to the west of dulles, 10 to 15 inches of snow. and then this i-81 corridor, maybe 20 inches from places like front royal to winchester. it's an inland affair. so north and west of the biggest cities, that's where we'll see the predominance of the snow. here's the key with this. coastal storm. this area of low pressure is the storm. it moves east-northeast and the pressure from the coastal storm coming back and the rain-snow line really is the 95 corridor. west of that, a snow affair and a big one at that. east of it, it's going to mix and it will be march, heavy wet snow. a lot of places like new york as we head to thursday, potentially, we'll see the rain change to slushy snow and then change back. so north and west of washington, wolf, we're going to see huge snow totals, even in washington it will be good for you guys because you haven't had much. >> we certainly happen.

people are not used to a lot of snow but we will do just fine. alexandra, thanks very much. there's a new recommendation for how many u.s. troops should remain in afghanistan after they are out at the end of next year. 2014, that's when the majority of the forces are supposed to leave, if not all of the troops. the u.s. plans to keep some troops there. the head of the u.s. military central command telling the armed services committee saying that he recommends that 13,600 american service members remain in afghanistan in 2015 and beyond. last month when he was still defense secretary, leon panetta said up to 12,000 u.s. troops should remain in afghanistan, remain behind. how much maintaining all of those troops in afghanistan, starting in 2015 will cost u.s. taxpayers, who will foot the bill for all of that, questions that have not been answered but it will be in the billions and

billions of dollars. also, a potential presidential contender 2016 sits down with jeb bush. plus, former federal drug chiefs urging states to crack down on legalized recreational marijuana. we're going to debate the controversial issue this hour right here in "the situation room." victor! victor! i got your campbell's chunky soup. mom? who's mom? i'm the giants mascot. the giants don't have a mascot! ohhh! eat up! new jammin jerk chicken soup has tasty pieces of chicken with rice and beans. hmmm. for giant hunger! thanks mom! see ya! whoaa...oops! mom? i'm ok. grandma? hi sweetie! she operates the head. [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right.

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the venezuela president hugo ch chavez is said to be in the worst condition since his most recent surgery almost three months ago. and now venezuelan officials are alleging that the obama administration is behind chavez's poor health and that they are trying to kill them and they are kicking out at least two u.s. embassy personnel.

joining us is shasta from the capital of caracas. what's going on? >> reporter: wolf, it's been an interesting day, puzzling to say the least. we've heard this news that chavez's health is taking a turn for the worst and meeting with top ministers and military brass and called a press conference and what we heard was a rambling one-hour press conference where he accused the u.s. military of plotting to destabilize the government and even accused foreign enemies of causing chavez's illness. take a listen to this. >> translator: the situation is one of complication and he has an infection that is being treated now.

it is a severe infection, as we told you yesterday that there are complications and worsening of the respiratory function and the american team is working and our people are praying to provide and bring god's energy so that he can overcome this difficult moment as he has before. >> reporter: that may not have been the one sound bite i was talking about. there was another time when maduro said foreign enemies had caused this disease and that time and tests would show that foreign enemies were to blame. again, he also said this was the lowest point in his health since he had undergone surgery and said there would be an update later about his situation but many venezuelans are sitting

back wondering what has happened. they haven't seen him for three months in public. wolf? >> when he makes this extraordinary allegation that foreign enemies were behind this severe infection of hugo chavez, in effect he's saying that they tried to kill him, they are trying to kill him. the same breath he says that they are expelling two u.s. embassy officials, two u.s. military. the foreign enemies, is he saying directly, basically, that the united states has tried to call hugo chavez? >> reporter: no, wolf. they didn't go so far. they sort of separate ideas he said that they had made contact with venezuela military personnel to try to convince them to become and didn't go into detail. as far as the attacking the

health of chavez, the inoculations, made a reference to arafat, he seemed to drum up support from chavez's religious supporters because this is the man, after all, who will have to run in elections if chavez either dies or isn't capable of assuming the full responsibilities of the president she, wolf. >> we should point out that officials flatly deny the allegations against these u.s. embassy personnel, the allegations hurled against them for the expulsion of these two americans. all right. we'll stay in close touch with you, shasta. thanks very much. he's one of the most talked about republican names for the next presidential election and in his new book the former florida governor jeb bush tackles one of the most contentious issues tackling the country. that would be immigration. tried to clarify his position in

an interview with our chief washington correspondent jake tapper. >> one of the most contentious issues, as you know, is whether or not those in the country illegally now should be provided a path to citizenship. you in the past have supported a path. >> yeah. >> the book suggests that if you're in the country illegally, you can get a legal status but you can't have a path to citizenship unless you go back to your country and get in the back of the line. >> so i have supported both, both the paddle to legalization and citizenship with the underlying principle being there should be no incentive of people to come illegally at the expense of legally. the only way other than family reunification is to come illegally. we need to create another category where there is actually a line. so if you could create that

through a path to citizenship, i would support that. >> so you say you've supported both. where are you -- >> in other words, instead of saying send people back that are here illegally, which was kind of the mantra of 2006, 7, and 8 amongst republicans, i've always felt that you could not deal with 11 million people and say see you later. >> unwith of the proposals in your book is that those who petition because their family members are here -- >> yep. >> -- should be narrowed. family petition should only be for spouses and children. no more cousins, grandmas. instead, that slot should go to high-skilled labor? >> not just high-skilled but labor in general. we're the only country that has this family are you unification. no other country has this. we have chain migration. if your adult brother has

petitioned and your parents, then their brothers and their parents -- >> and it goes on forever. >> and it's gone on forever for 30 years and it has crowded out all the other categories to the extent that we really don't have what traditionally has existed in the united states, which is a simple category of i want to come to the united states and pursue my dreams. we don't have that. >> you will be criticized by immigrant groups for a rather -- you can call it pragmatic, cold, self-interested but changing it so it's no longer let's help uncle julio get in this kousht because he's a family member and we love him but instead give it to someone who can help the american economy? >> there are people who would love to this country who don't have relatives here that could make an immediate contribution. is itrong for our country to have a strategic approach? i don't think so. i think we should take all of

the highly skilled people that want to come. >> how do you convince republicans that they need to be part of this? >> i think there is a growing consensus that not that immigration is the driver of people's decisions but it's a gateway issue. it's an issue that does allow republicans if they are engaged in it to make their case to a broader -- on a broader suite of issues. today basically if you keep being against things, particularly something that has -- where you have emotional connectivity, as immigration is for a lot of emerging voting groups, you're not going to have a chance to even make your case. i think there's an awareness of that. >> and jake tapper is joining us now. jake, let's talk a little bit about this interview and get your reaction. listen, for example, the very sharp words just uttered by the senate majority leader harry reid. listen to this.

>> what we should do about that is let's wait for a few minutes and see how jeb bush changes his mind again. his opinion on immigration is not evolving, it's devoluming. he keeps going backward. >> those are pretty strong words from harry reid. in the book he doesn't support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants but now he is leaving that open. so what is going on here? >> i think the intention of former governor jeb bush was to start a conversation about immigration reform by putting a platform and a plan and proposal out there in between the time between his handing out his book in november and it being published. the conversation kind of evolved beyond where he was and where the conversation was among republicans in november. i think, as he said in the interview, he has supported both, a pathway to citizenship for people in the country

illegally and his current proposal does not have that same path to citizenship, it has a path to residency. for him, jeb bush argues this isn't about the particular but to get it signed into law. >> so do you think there's a significant difference between marco rubio who clearly is on board for a path way to citizenship? >> there is a difference in terms of the proposal that jeb bush makes but i think ultimately if jeb bush were in the senate or were the president, i don't think it would matter. i think he's showing that he's flexible. some might call it a flip-flop and as far as jeb bush is concerned, we need to do something, something needs to be accomplished. he doesn't seem to be bothered by the criticism. his position is, look, the system we have right now does

not work. whatever we come forward and propose as a solution is better than the unworkable reality of today. >> we'll have more during the 6:00 p.m. hour including the possibility, he's leaving it open, that he may run for presidency in 2016. is there a third bush potentially in the run for president? we'll talk about that. thank you, jake. >> thank you, wolf. two states have legalized drug use. washington needs to crack down on those states. get ready. we have a debate on this specific issue and that's next. [ male announcer ] whether it's mom's smartphone... dad's tablet... lauren's smartphone... or kevin's smartphone... at&t mobile share makes it affordable for the whole family to share data on all their devices. and when you connect a tablet, you save $100. ♪

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eight former heads of the

federal drug enforcement administration are urging president obama to crack down on marijuana recreational use. he says that the government is running out of time to nullify that makes pot use illegal. they say we the undersigned strongly support the continued enforcement of federal law prohibiting the cultivation, distribution, sale, and use of marijuana, a dangerous and addictive drug which already has severe harmful effects on american society. and then goes on to say, ask for the canard that marijuana is a legitimate medicine, the overwhelming consensus of the accredited medical and scientific communities declare that it is not. let's go to ace hutchinson, one of the signers of this letter and democratic congressman where his home state has approved

recreational marijuana use. congressman, first to you. they say it's a dangerous, addictive drug which would have a harmful effect on american society. what do you say? >> you know what, same entire rhetoric. we've been talking about people on the grave ree train of drug use as well as making millions of dollars through consulting on this drug war. of course they are going to be against it. it's not only the criminal cartels but the professional drug warriors and they are benefiting to the tune of millions and millions of dollars and kids are abusing drugs. we need to make sure that it's regulated and keep it out of the hands of kids and gangs and criminal cartels. >> ace hutchinson, as you can see, he supports regulation but not banning marijuana. what's the difference between marijuana and alcohol? >> well, let me just go to where we are right now, the purpose of the letter by aid bipartisan

served in both democratic and republican administrations, that we have a conflict in state and federal laws. there are three options. you can ignore it, let the conflict exist, secondly, you can file suit and have a clarification as to whether state action is a violation of federal law or, three, you could crack down, i suppose, in terms of enforcement actions. i don't believe that should be the case. i think we need a clarification which would be filing suit, similar to what the obama administration did against arizona on the immigration issue. let's file suit. let's have a clarification because this conflict cannot continue to exist. what happens in colorado on this issue is not going to stay in colorado. it's going to cascade across america and it needs to be clarified now. >> i want to get to that. explain why alcohol should be regulated but marijuana is different and then i'm going to

let the congressman respond. >> well, that is a debate that could be conducted in the halls of congress. whenever you're looking at marijuana, it's a harmful drug. if you legalize it, it's going to increase use. it's a question that our country needs to decide and it's a fair debate. the congressman has a bill where we would nationalize and legalize it across, say, the national basis. that's a fair debate. i'm just saying, let's not go two directions where you have a state law and state action that directly conflicts with federal action. that's a recipe for disaster. >> congressman, respond. >> in answer to your question, wolf, marijuana is a harmful drug. alcohol is a harmful drug. it's a question of how harmful? how best to deal with it in society? it's time to replace it with a

new policy. we want to change it at the federal level. in the meantime, essentially establishing lowest enforcement priority for states that have legal sale of medical marijuana and hopefully the next states that have legal sale of regulated marijuana is the best that the obama administration can do in the meantime. of course, they need to focus the limited drug enforcement resources after the real hazard here and i think asa and i agree, meth houses, heroin addiction, these are real problems and the law enforcement role is very real. let's not focus on recreational use in legalizing marijuana. >> that shouldn't be the federal priority. it's not recreational use. the federal priority is to enforce federal law. that does not have to to be done by raids or enforcement actions but it needs to be clarified

just again like they did in arizona. there can be a declaratory action in federal court which determines whether the state action that violates federal law should continue or not. that's the proper venue to resolve the issue. the obama administration and justice department is evaluating this. they can make the decision that they can not simply turn their back on what's a clear violation of federal law. >> look, our state of colorado, state of washington are well along in a thoughtful process, a bipartisan process of coming up with sensible relations about marijuana. the last thing they need is interference or a lawsuit from the federal government. >> there's a lot of money at stake, asa, and at a time of budget deficits and all of that, spending all this money to prosecute recreational marijuana users, throw some of them in jail, obviously that's very,

very expensive. can't the federal government use those funds in a smarter way? >> well, the federal government does not prosecute recreational marijuana users. that is the flat truth. that's a decision up to the states as to how they handle that issue so take it up with them. in terms of resources, that's not the priority. that is not happening. if you're being looking at tax revenue, that is an argument for regulation and legalization. let that argument happen in the marketplace. colorado, you know, did their sovereign choice of passing this initiative. we got ourselves in a box here. we have federal law conflicting with state law and it should not just simply be left there with no consequence or with no determination of this. and clarification. if this -- if there's no action by the obama administration within five years, there will be legalization of marijuana across the united states, in my

judgment. and so i think what is happening in the department of justice, this decision is critically important, not just for colorado but for arkansas and missouri and every state that's going to have to be dealing with this issue in the coming years. >> we're almost out of time. congressman polis, i'll give you the last word. should state laws in this particular case regulate are marijuana trump federal law? >> absolutely. we need to change federal law. i agree with asa. we need to legalize marijuana nationally but in the meantime, the best thing the federal government can do is step pack, make it clear it's a low-enforcement policy. >> a good debate, a debate that's going to continue. thanks to both of you for coming in. >> thank you. >> you it. while we're waiting to see when the cardinals at the vatican will pick a new pope, the vatican is waiting as well. why the cardinals can't yet start the conclave. rgentina, change engineering in dubai,

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cardinals at the vatican are deciding a little bit closer -- they are trying to decide when they will begin the conclave that will choose the next pope. lisa sylvester is monitoring that and other stories in "the situation room." they are almost ready but not quite? >> almost but not quite. they are awaiting the riflt of the last five cardinals who can cast a vote but they won't say when they will get there. the existing chapel has been closed to the public. it's a time of prayer and reflection and the archbishop emerit emeritus mccarrick will join us in the next hour. and the parents of robert champion say the new charge is appropriate but the lawyer for one of the students says this is to pressure his client into

accepting a deal with jail time. they face a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted. you've got to take a look at this. a man who tried to rob a done kin donuts got a hot coffee. when the worker refused, the robber tried to climb in the store through the window and the clerk threw a pot of coffee at the suspect. don't mess with that clerk. i'm telling you, do not mess with that clerk, trying to rob a done kin donuts knowing they have hot coffee? >> god forbid if that guy had a gun or something, he could have been in trouble. >> it's one of those, what were you thinking? >> fortunately he's okay. i hope they find that bad guy. thanks very much. questions swirling around

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there's a certain delicate balance on the united states supreme court right now. five conservative leading justices, including one who's an occasional swing vote. four justices who are clearly liberal leaning. knowing how precious each vote is, court insiders are keeping an eye on ruth bader ginsburg. if she retire, president obama could appoint another justice.

with us is jeffrey toobin. he's the author of the book "the oath." he recently had a chance to speak with ruth bader ginsburg. she's about to turn 80. you asked her, jeff, if she's thinking about retiring and let me read to you what she said. as long as i can do the job full steam, you can never tell when you're my age. but as long as i think i have the candle power, i will do it, next year for certain. after that, who knows? what do you think? what's going on? >> i think there's a paradox of justice ginsburg now because she is at once the top of her game. she is the senior liberal in the court. she has united the liberals in many cases. they speak with one voice. but at the same time, she recognized she's turning 80 and she has great regard for barack obama. it is clear that there is a real

kinship between the two of them and i think in president obama's third year, you notice justice ginsburg said not this year, not next year but i think in his third year justice ginsburg will retire and give president obama a chance to ill if the seat. >> and not wait until the next president who potentially could be a republican. it could be a different court if sherp replaced by a conservative-leaning justice. give us an idea of how she has shaped the court. >> the irony about justice ginsburg is she shaped the court more as a lawyer than a justice. in the 1970s she was sort of the thurgood marshal of the women's rights movement. she brought case after case in creating equal justice under the law for women. but since she joined the court when president clinton appointed her in 1993, it's been mostly a conservative court. so in most of the big cases,

whether it's citizens united or bush v. gore, she's been in the minority. yes, she was in the majority in the health care case but she has not had the good luck to be in a liberal moment as a liberal justice. >> can we assume she will support same-sex marriage, marriage equality in these up coming decisions? >> well, we sort of talked around that issue a lot in my new yorker story and i think in the defense of marriage act case, the case that challenges the constitutionality of the law that says the federal government will not recognize same-sex marriages, even in states where it's legal, i think it's pretty clear she will vote to declare that law unconstitutional. i think the proposition 8 case, the case that bans same-sex marriage, i think her position is a little harder to tell. she does not believe in grand pronouncements, even liberal grand pronouncements from the supreme court. so if she rules in favor of

same-sex marriage, it will only be in california, not some broad ruling for the whole country. >> jeffrey toobin has written an excellent article in the "new yorker" as he always does. thank you, jeffrey. >> thank you, wolf. an attorney of the united states says it's impossible to imagine. we're going live to the pentagon. it's proven to be 4x better at smoothing lines we're going live to the pentagon. we're going live to the pentagon. to imagine. we're going live to the pentagon. oimpossible to imagine. we're going live to the pentagon. simpossible to imagine. we're going live to the pentagon. impossible to imagine. we're going live to the pentagon. osimpossible to imagin. we're going live to the pentagon. impossible to imagine. we're going live to the pentagon. to imagine. we're going live to the pentagon. iimpossible to imagine. we're going live to the pentagon. simpossible to imagine. we're going live to the pentagon. mpossible to imagine. we're going live to the pentagon. possible to imagine. we're going live to the pentagon. possible to imagine. we're going live to the pentagon. . . if there was a pill

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a lethal drone strike on u.s. soil. attorney general eric holder will not completely role out a

shocking story. chris lawrence is working that story. chris, what is going on here? >> this has got to come to a shock here that the u.s. government could assert this kind of power here inside the united states. basically, senator rand paul wanted some explanation about how much power the government has to go after citizens. he got that clarification and therefore now so do we. in a letter, the attorney general eric holder wrote to rand paul. he said that authorizing a drone strike against an american citizen right here on u.s. soil, that would be a hypothetical situation, unlikely to occur and something he hoped no president would ever have to do. but, quote, it is possible, i suppose, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the constitution and applicable laws of the united states for the president to authorize the military to use leet tal force

within the tear tone of the united states. the letter goes on to give examples, such as the impending attack on, say, pearl harbor from 1941 or the attacks on september 11th, 2001. in a separate letter, the nominee to be the ci director john brennan said this would not be something that the cia could authorize. it would have to come from the president himself. >> hold on a second, chris, because i want to bring jeffrey toobin into this conversation. jeff, if it's okay if it's legal for a u.s. drone to kill an american citizen in somalia or someplace else, what is the different to use a u.s. drone to target an american citizen on u.s. soil? >> well, it is a different situation. the federal government has more limited powers under the constitution within the united states but it still has a lot of

powers here and if you had a national security situation with that -- with tremendous urgency along the lines of pearl harbor or 9/11, you could see a situation where the drone, like a fighter plane, like a very powerful gun could be used in the united states. it's just another weapon and the police have a lot of weapons in this country. >> and let me go back to chris lawrence for a inmaminute. there's no plans to target anyone in the united states or anyone for that matter, as far as you know? >> no. and as i read the attorney general's letter, it says that they have no plans on doing so. it further says, eric holder says that he would have to examine the particular facts according to whatever particular circumstance came up, he would

have to look at them individually and then advise the president specifically on his legal authority in that case. again, he made a point of saying senator rand paul's question was hypothetical, is hypothetical at this time but at some point down the road in the future, this may not be a hypothetical question, wolf. >> chris, hold on a moment. we have some breaking news. all right. venezuela television is reporting that hugo chavez, the president of venezuela is dead. the news just reported moments ago on venezuelan television. he's been very, very ill over the past several months. underwent surgery in cuba before returning to caracas, the ven venezuelan capital. there have been reports about saying how gravely ill he was and the would rs is it since his

condition in cuba but now reporting that the venezuela president, hugo chavez, has passed away. this is something that so many people, not only in venezuela but throughout central america, latin america indeed here in the united states, around the world have been looking -- have been fully expecting, given how gravely ill he is. but there is also some very, very peculiar ramifications that were reported today by the vice president of venezuela. one, an allegation that, quote, foreign enemies of venezuela were involved in poisoning, if you will, hugo chavez, infecting him severely, leading to his cancer and his now, as we know, death. also today, two american diplomatic personnel, two u.s. military in caracas in venezuela were expelled from the venezuelan government for what they claim was inappropriate

coordination activities with various elements of the venezuelan army. so that is the news right now. hugo chavez is dead. one carlos lopez is here in "the situation room." this is going to be a huge, huge development because hugo chavez was no influential throughout the region, so controversial, especially because of his ties not only with cuba and the castro brothers but also with iran and the president there, ahmadinejad. >> very intense relation with the united states. president chavez had sought out to create a new axis in the region to drive power away from the united states. he died at 4:25 today, about 22 minutes ago. and he had been very ill. he had been transported back to venezuela. the last thing he said this morning, you were talking about the press conference where they talk about expelling the two military and the whole issue

with his disease. obviously you could see they were very somber. you could see if in their faces and sources were telling us this was probably the first method to tell venezuelans what was going on. there will be a presidential transition. the constitution obligates the government to call for a new election. the country is very divided. many believe that the opposition could gain control. the government still has support in venezuela. >> the opposition to the government of hugo chavez which seems to be gaining strength, right? >> that's correct. the town will try to convince the poor segments of the country to vote for them. it was a very close relationship with the president. the question is, will they have enough time and will the government with it is programs and everything they have been saying be able to convince people to elect who chavez asked the people of venezuela to vote

for. >> shasta, it has now happened. hugo chavez, just reiterating, now officially declared dead by the leadership in venezuela. venezuelan television reporting that only moments ago. you and i spoke earlier. walk us through this process. what now happens, shasta? >>. >> wolf, basically this kicks off a new election. one thing that is important to keep in mind, while you're right, many people were expecting this. you still have to remember that this is a kousht where so many people fervently loved chavez and followed him closely. a poll showed that 57% of venezuelans thought that he was going to be cured and come back at their president. you may think that they were just denying what was so obvious to everyone else. but this is going to be a hard thing to swallow for a lot of people. they will call new elections. new elections will have to be

held within 30 days and according to most polls, the vice president maduro is clearly in line to win those elections. he doesn't have the ferverent support but a lot of people from the poor neighborhoods support chavez and feel they are doing better after his 14-year rule. >> he was 58 years old, hugo chavez, the president of venezuela. he has now passed away. what did we know about the vice president who made the official announcement on venezuelan television, nicolas maduro? does he have anti-u.s. views that hugo chavez had? le. >> reporter: i think his views have shifted.

he comes from a humbled background and lately people think he's been more of a hard liner and firebrand than chavez without the charisma. a lot of that could be because he's trying to drum up the support and rally people behind him. since he doesn't have that charisma, a sure way to do that is by pounding those anti-american drums, the imperialists. at the same time, there has been speculation that the united states could try and get closer to venezuela once hugo chavez had passed. as you know, they haven't shared ambassadors since 2010. there had been some hopes that they could build up relations. of course, the u.s. continues to buy venezuelan oil. there is no embargo, for example, in neighboring cuba. lately he's been very much a hard liner, very fiery speeches and we can certainly expect more of that in the short term as

they prepare for elections, wolf. >> and he is speaking live at the hospital where chavez died. he accused foreign enemies infecting hugo chavez, causing his death. he has now passed away. two u.s. embassy officials, two u.s. military were expelled from venezuela for illegal activities, coordination with venezuela military charges the u.s. has flatly denied. barbara starr is at the pentagon watching what is going on. there's a lot of stake. what do you see? >> well, wolf, even as these two military anti-shays were expelled, this strange security relationship with chavez's regime, this is a country that's very important to the u.s. business community. it's a huge economic market.

the u.s. exports autos, machineries, chemicals and as shasta just said, import. a significant amount of oil from venezuela, they are major suppliers. in terms of the u.s. economy, u.s. businesses, they want to see a stable future for venezuela. that's what they are looking for out of all of this because it's such an important market on both sides and it's been very tough in recent years. chavez close to fidel castro but perhaps even more troublesome to the u.s., close to the iranian leader ahmadinejad, said to have supported hezbollah operatives, very concerning to the u.s. that he was very much tied in to support networks for terrorism. even as he was a very flamboyant leader on the world stage, there was this very serious underlying concern. you'll remember he went to the

u.n., criticized president george w. bush, calling him the devil. and in return, you'll remember during a latin america summit, the president of spain became so irritated with hugo chavez told him to, and i quote, shut up. but make no mistake, a very security concern about the regime he was leading and now a lot of interest on behalf of the u.s. business and industry to flourish. >> you're also talking about oil. venezuela is a major oil exporting nation? >> absolutely. depending on how the flows and statics go, one of the top four suppliers of imported oil to the u.s. there have been sanctions all of this because of their support. and for iran more specifically. but that oil flow has continued and, of course, it's very

important to the united states in the heating oil market especially and in refined oil products, such as gasoline and other fuel products. this is something that has been a fundamental part of the u.s. energy economy. so you're going to see a lot of u.s. businesses keep a very close eye on that transition in venezuela. you're going to want to know that their investments are secure and that this is a stable country to invest in. wolf? >> barbara, john king has been watching. lots at stake in potentially the u.s.-venezuelan relationship. as hugo chavez took over, it's been awful. >> i remember dating back to the bush administration where they orchestrated world summits and they would try to pass each other. they thought chavez would try to strike up a conversation and he called george bush the devil. at one point he said that president obama should stop worrying about dealing with

global wars and deal with his problems at home. if -- and we've had this question in libya, iraq, other parts of the world, if the government changes in a way that is open to international investment, u.s. oil companies, of course, u.s. energy companies, u.s. businesses, period. the question is, what comes next? i was just talking to our friend alex castellanos on the way out here. does the vice president keep power and keep consistent consistencies? perhaps. but he's not hugo chavez. it become as different dynamic. i think it's clearly someone who was a lightning rod for his supporters and for his global critics has passed from the scene and let's see what happens next. >> let's get someone else to wave in right now. eva is an attorney and writer in new york, has lived in caracas.

she's written a few bestselling books, including the chavez code cracking u.s. intervention in venezuela. i take it, eva, you were a former adviser to hugo chavez? >> yes. good afternoon. yeah. and also a close friend. so obviously this news is very difficult, even though it's been something that we've been expecting to hear in p recereces because of the bad turn, the worsening of chavez's health. it's terrible news for millions of people in venezuela and around the world for people who love hugo chavez, have had a very close connection with him for a decade now. he's been, i think, probably the most i would say the biggest impact on venezuela and has dramatically transformed

venezuela in history. he has changed lives dramatically of the majority of venezuelans and his policies have reduced poverty by more than half, have brought people out of dire circumstances that today enjoy a decent standard of living. his policies have implemented widespread nationally universal health care for all venezuelans free of charge and he's done extraordinary, extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary things for the country. of course, nothing is perfect and there have been adversaries, problems, there have been moments throughout his presidential terms during the past almost 14 years where things haven't gone as great as they could but i would say overall chavez has a very positive balance in terms of his

governing of venezuela and, you know, he shared this very, very close connection with the people of venezuela, which is something that few leaders are ever capable of doing and he's been one who really gave his life, gave every single part of him, all of his energy, all of his soul to helping the people of venezuela. so there were those who loved him and there were those who hated him but no one can deny that he dedicated himself to i am profession this country. he put venezuela on the map and he recovered the national identity and dignity of the venezuela people. >> eva golinger joining us on the phone, author. carlos is here from espanol. he was democratic. were those elections considered free and fair elections, the elections that brought him to power? >> they were not considered free and fair but it was tilted towards the governing power not

only because at one point we didn't want to participate in congress so he had congress all to himself. he was able to change the laws and have congress give him almost complete power and then the opposition comeback, which has not been so powerful. the mandate that calls for elections should happen in the next 30 days. chavez said the last time before he left to cuba that venezuelans should vote for the vice president. the main candidate, the opposition candidate will run against him. but the question is, will the opposition have enough time to defeat maduro when there will be a sympathy vote towards madura and those people in power. the economy hasn't been by many considered well managed. but a lot of people didn't improve their voting established ards. >> in venezuela? >> in venezuela. that's going to be an

interesting resolvement. >> it's going to be interesting to see how they react to this, wait on the outside and see what happens or see what else they can do? >> obviously you need to step back and wait for the elections. the government is already accusing the u.s. of the death and not just the obama administration, but other leaders in the region, a lot of leaders in the region, some of them chavez's friend and others wary of him. he was this iconic figure and he was not going to listen. he was going to do things his own way. the sqquestion is whether his hand-picked successor plays their card. chavez used wealth. the question is will the next

leader try to do the same thing or again lacking the personal history and the personality of chavez, even if they have a relevant consistent priorities. >> let's go back to shasta darlington, our correspondent in caracas. have you sensed the mood on the streets now that the vice president has confirmed that hugo chavez has died? what's been the reaction on the streets? >> reporter: wolf, you can hear it. in fact, when the announcement was being made, you could hear some cars beeping their horns. and i think there has been this tension over the last 24 hours. and even before that with a lot of critics especially demanding more details about his health. officials have repeatedly said that he wasn't doing well and fighting for his life. are they lying to us, is he already dead? and even support ares saying

that we need to see him, hear him. we don't really know that he's really in charge. we spoke to some supporters who said i'm a chavez supporter. until he comes out and says what he definitely wants me to do is follow maduro, i'm not going to. you've got to wonder what those people are going to do in the absence of that confirmation. polls show that vice president maduro will win elections if they are held in the next 30 days and that's the very likely case. it's a question to ask going forward, what kind of a president will he be? a lot of his support has come from the poorer neighborhoods and the social policies that have got him that support. so it's logical to think that maduro would have to follow that. on the other hand, the benefits that chavez has extended, for example, to cuba are very popular here. with his charisma and personality, he could pull it off. we don't know if maduro will be

able to pull off the less popular policies and might in fact mean that a closer relationship with the united states could eventually develop. wolf? >> shasta, have you heard any word with a funeral, a state funeral, inviting leaders from all over the world or more of a private funeral? any indication what we can expect in the coming days? >> reporter: weapon don't have those details yet. i would expect something considerable. this is a latin america, very different from one that we had even ten years ago. there are a lot of left-leaning leaders who may not share all of the sort of socialist ideologies that chavez had or have a strong resiliency, much more sort of pro trade policies.

these leaders will come together. they have a strong path together. you can expect all of latin america will be coming and sharing in this history that so many people think that chavez improved and really brought so many people out of poverty. they will be celebrating that history, wouldle if. >> he was suffering for a long time from cancer but it was always intriguing for me and perplexing why he p always went to cuba for the surgeries even though there are excellent hospitals in caracas and venezuela. was it simply he doesn't trust the doctors in his own home country or what was the explanation that they really gave and what do we know? >> reporter: wolf, i think we all take for granted the reason he went to cuba, that's where his treatment would be totally private. you can't get that kind of

privacy in venezuela. you may remember the former brazilian president offered him to go seek treatment in brazil. they have accident facilities. he himself was treated for cancer there. he went to cuba. it's widely understood that he did that so nobody would know any details about his condition unless he and the government wanted it to be known. wolf? >> douglas brinkley, the presidential his store general, his tore general is joining us on the phone. i believe you went there with christopher hitchens and sean penn. what was he like? >> i spent quite a bit of time with him. he was very charismatic and quite sunny.

i was surprised about that and he also had a great love for christ. chavez was not an atheist. his jesus was a radical jesus who helped the poor. he is loved by the poorer people in venezuela. i got concerned about his intellect. it was one thing to not like the monroe doctrine and it was another thing to think he was the ghost of simone boulevard and he told me that americans went to the moon, that that was staged in hollywood. he seemed to me to even question 9/11 and the towers being hit. so acai came across where he wa very charismatic and he was anti-american and too much of a conspiratorial bent for me to

admire. >> when you say that he was raising money about 9/11 and the destruction of the world trade center by the planes, was he saying that was some sort of a conspiracy made up by the u.s.? is that what he believed? >> yes. and and somehow -- he was always worried that the united states was up to shenanigans and used our media to pull big ones on the world community. and i grew up in ohio and neil armstrong was my hero. i was sort of surprised to hear he didn't go on for some length about apollo 11 being a farce. i think our government has done the right thing. you can fly into caracas. it's a great country. he's done some good things in that country. we don't need an embassy or ambassador there. we just didn't have the right

relationship with him. i found that he wrote regulars to castro and they would deliver them by courier. so he would have -- some day there will be a vast volume, the castro letters all about the socialist revolution of the world. they were almost inseparable. >> doug, when you hear the vice president today, nicolas maduro, who's the front-runner to succeed hugo chavez, that foreign enemies poisoned the former late president of venezuela, hugo chavez, and created this severe infection, creating his cancer, i suspect a lot of people in venezuela probably will believe that kind of ridiculous accusations. >> exactly. there's this hyper conspiracy

theory. he's perplexing, hugo chavez. i do think that he did care about the disenfranchised and the poor but he had turned the united states into being such a boogie man and he was a fan of great credibility to the end. he loved american sports. the red jackets came from the cincinnati red. he was friends with the shortstop who was from venezuela and loved american movies and he just didn't have any use for americ government. >> hold on a second. nicolas maduro made the announcement a while ago, that hugo chavez has passed away at the age of 58. i want to play that clip in spanish. juan carlos of cnn espanol is

here. he's going to translate this simultaneously. this is nicolas maduro making the announcement. >> translator: we've received the most tragic and hard information that we can tell our people. at 4:25 this afternoon today, our commander president hugo chavez has died. >> you could see juan carlos, he was holding back, choking back tears, the vice president. >> when we saw him in the press conference hours before, you could tell it was a somber mood. he was not in his regularly kwash shous mood. we heard that they didn't see him living past march or april. that's how advanced his cancer was. >> and they are chanting the fight will go on. the fight will go on. these are live pictures coming in from caracas.

those who loved hugo chavez obviously mourning his death. let's listen in briefly, juan carlos. don't translate yet. i just want to get a flavor. okay. juan carlos, what are they chanting? >> we are all chavez. will the revolution nobody has his support within the people. >> we heard earlier one of his great admirers, alex

castellanos, you were not a great admirer but your family came from cuba to the united states and have been opposed to the regime these last few years? >> what we've seen in cuba we've seen repeated in venezuela. the other side of the story is a dictator. this is a man if you disagreed with him, you could disappear. people would show up at your business and it would be closed and all of a sudden there's a show trial on television and you're destroyed in the news media, wch, of course, he controlled. he took a country that had the most resources in the world, natural resources and couldn't keep their street lamps on at night. they run out of food in the country because he taxes from the rich and gives to the poor, making him very popular with the poor but you don't build an economy that way. this is our regret today.

>> juan carlos, i assume you've been a venezuela recently. what is it like there on the ground? we're going to bring in shas ta darlington. >> president chavez, said the situation did improve for poor people. the levels of literacy improved, access to health improved. but as alex was saying, it was a very polarized country. it was a divided country. it still was. i had the privilege of speaking to president chavez in 2010. he was able to convince a lot of people to vote for him and then you could rd oh the most exquisite plate and there wouldn't be milk for coffee or cappuccino. a country with a lot of resources that exported most of

its oil to the u.s. and others criticized for being so openly critical of the u.s. while he had a line of axis, his own free trade agreement with the u.s. selling the u.s. oil. >> the u.s. has a diplomatic relations with venezuela, albeit not an am bass door yell level but there and in the coming days, world leaders will be provided. the question is who will the united states send to represent the united states at this funeral. >> the question is, should they answer the question by looking back which means they would send nobody or answer it by looking forward that this could be a potential opening but shows some level of outreach to have conversations while on the ground because if you've been to diplomatic funerals, yes, there

is mourning but there also is opportunity when you get all of these leaders together. the administration that has to make that calculation. as they do so, wolf, remember, hugo chavez was one of the great m meddlers. run as fabulous organization called citizens oil that gives low-income people free or -- >> or here in the united states. >> in the new england states, home heating oil. one of his major supplierses with hugo chavez. joe kennedy was often criticized about that. and chavez knew how to play that. he was one of the great characters on the world stage and he knew how to get -- right in to our politics who advance his own. >> i want to play the clip.

this is one of the most famous clips of hugo chavez who passed away at the united nations and speaking of the then president george w. bush. >> translator: the devil came here yesterday. yesterday, the devil came here. right here. right here. and it smells of sulfur still today. the table that i'm now standing in front of, yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this the president of the united states, the gentleman to whom i refer as to the devil came here. >> richard roth was there that day back in 2006 when hugo chavez was addressing the united nations general assembly.

richard, all of us remember when he referred to the president of the united states as the devil. what was it like? >> that was an incredible day in u.n. history and depending on your political view point, if he were on the west side along with the united states, it was disgusting, according to diplomats and if you were among the dozens of countries here who believe that the big powers run rough shot over them, you second kretly supported what hugo chavez was saying about the president. i'm not sure if he returned. maybe once since then. if chavez wasn't attending the general assembly sessions, he was a wild card, unpredictable. he also blasted the rest of the countries saying it was worthless. i asked just minutes ago about the passing of hugo chavez.

>> venezuelan president hugo chavez has passed away. i wonder if you could talk about the man, his legacy, his appearance here at the u.n. did you speak with him often? >> this is the first time that i hear from you that he has passed away. as a president of venezuela he has been making his only contributions. at the same time, as the secretary general while i'd be able to issue a more formal statement, i'd like to convey my condolence to the families and people and government of

venezuela on the loss of president chavez. you will have a further statement from me. >> and i remember, wolf, a couple of years ago venezuelan's u.n. ambassador quit objecting to the policies of hugo chavez. his passing takes away one of the most procutorial leaders. wolf? >> richard, thanks. and we have an excerpt from 2010. listen to this. p. >> translator: obama to me until now has been a great disappointment, a great

disappointment, great change within the united states and abroad. but mostly abroad because one can't get involved in internal decisions. >> juan carlos, you remember that interview. so give us a little background, a little flavor. did he really hate the president of the united states? obviously he called the former president george w. bush the devil. said it smelled of sulfur over at the united nations general assembly. clearly he didn't have those harsh feelings about president obama. >> no, not at all and one of the things i'm remembering is how good of a communicator he was. he was aware of what was going on. he prepared for the interviews and he had a really good concept for president obama but said after seeing his first -- and this was 2010, after seeing his first two years, that he wasn't really that positively surprised by the u.s. government but didn't have the harsh words that he did for president bush.

remember, john was talking about this, he took every opportunity possible to show that he was trying to get things better. >> wolf, when you're a dictator in a country like this, you need an enemy. you need the great satan on the other side of the caribbean. >> in this particular place, the devil? >> the devil. whom he may be visiting now himself. you about you need that to keep the country together. you don't have a positive agenda, uplifting the entire country. you play the rich against the poor. you need the bogie man across the sea. this was a violent courntry. this was a country where hugo chavez was the law. if you said something he didn't agree with, you could disappear. latin america, characterized for years by the countries with tremendous potential where the elites gobbled up everything and

as the world has changed in the past 20 years and people got more information, more communication, they could see what was going on, you begin to see these populous revolts and many countries where the elite hung on open the door to people like hugo chavez. >> i suspect, alex, a lot of the leaders of south america, central america will come to his funeral. >> most of them will. there is a populous movement around the world. we've seen it in egypt and latin america and hugo chavez tapped into that with fear. >> they are lowering the tag to half staff in venezuela right now. these are live pictures coming from venezuela tv. go ahead, john. you want to wrap this up? >> correct me if i'm wrong, recollection is that the united states criticizing him for ceasing the last ones, in terms of the media control, he refused

to renew the license of one of the major television players and doug brinkley was mentioning the conspiracy theories. he was the central figure in an oliver stone movie south of the border, i think it was, back in 2009 there was a big international because it premiered in venice. >> we're going to check back with shasta darlington who is in kra rauk kas. about an hour or so ago, the official announcement came from the vice president of venezuela, nicholas maduro, announcing that hugo chavez has died. christiane amanpour is joining

us. what do you think happens next? >> well, i've covered it from afar and we've all been much waing w watching to see what happens next. this has been something that most people have been awaiting for a long time now and especially today as the vice president took a fairly unusual step to spend a long time on television and talking about hugo chavez. it reminded me of the old sort of communist propaganda machine, getting people ready for the final announcement and of course his final announcement has arrived. but he did make some very unusual accusations, the vice president, lashing out on all sides, blaming the united states, for instance, of conspireing to poison chavez and expelling and announcing the spell of the u.s. military cache and others. the u.s. state department has had a furious response to that completing denying it and saying

that the allegations are absurd and if they don't stop they have their own recourse. obviously thinking that they might be able to expel venezuelan diplomats. there is a long-time festering relationship between hugo chavez and venezuela, for the last 15 years since he's been in power and the united states. he's taken enormous pride in sicking sand into the face of uncle sam, as one analyst put it to me, and this was part of his charisma. people say that he had charisma and sort of his banding and as long as venezuela continues to benefit from the very high price of oil which is happening right now and as we know has the world's largest reserves of oil, it's likely to continue, at least for the foreseeable future as it is right now.

>> christiane amanpour. interesting. the last tweet back in february said this. le there it is up on the screen t says, i still cling to christ and trusted my doctors and nurses. we will live and we will win. that from hugo chaf vvez who pad away at the age of 58. we'll continuing the breaking news and all of the day's breaking news right after this. did you know, your eyes can lose vital nutrients as you age?

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such as sweating shakiness, confusion, and headache. severe low blood sugar can be serious and life-threatening. ask your health care provider about alcohol use, operating machinery, or driving. other possible side effects include injection site reactions and low potassium in your blood. tell your health care provider about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions. get medical help right away if you experience serious allergic reactions such as body rash, trouble with breathing, fast heartbeat, or sweating. flexpen® is insulin delivery my way. covered by most insurance plans, including medicare. find your co-pay cost at myflexpen.com. ask your health care provider about novolog® flexpen today i just want to recap the breaking news that we've been following for the last half hour. vice president nicolas maduro

announcing that president hugo chavez has passed away. shasta darlington is on the scene, much more for what this means for the united states and the western hemisphere now that hugo chaf vvez has passed away. there's other news we're following in washington. the powerful democratic senator from new jersey, robert menendez, is breaking silence after being accused of paying a girl for sex and totally recanted her story. dana bash is up on capitol hill working the details. she's joining us now with the latest. dana? >> reporter: senator menendez feels vindicated but the story about using prostitutes is not over. the woman in this video posted on the conservative "the daily caller" website alleged that senator robert menendez paid her $100 for sex in the dominican

republic. now in this affidavit, she says she is the woman in the obscured video and she was not paid to have sex with menendez but was paid to lie about it. i am the person in the video. that is me and those are my words but this statement is not true, she said in the affidavit. menendez was eager to find the cameras to say, i told you so. >> from the very beginning i said that nameless, faceless anonymous sources took from right-winger blogs took this story, which were just false smears right before an election cycle, attempted to do it then and ultimately drove it into the mainstream press but there were never anything other than false smears. >> reporter: a key question now, if the woman in the video was paid to lie, who paid her and why? >> your guess is as good as

mine. >> reporter: desantos santana says that she was paid by a dominican lawyer. for what reason? is it, as menendez alleges, partisan politics? abc news is revealing that it interviewed the same woman and that the interviews were instigated by unknown republican operatives last fall right before his re-election. abc decided not to air the report. but the website who published the stories is nd sstanding by story. the woman snaying she was paid o lie is not the woman in this video. >> she clearly didn't identify the people she said she was paid to identify and the woman we interviewed went by a different name. her age doesn't even match up.

>> reporter: beyond the he said, she said, they are determining whether with the port security contract in the dominican republic. the fbi is also interviewing melgen for potential health care fraud and raided his offices earlier this year. menendez repeatedly denies doing anything wrong. >> on public policy issues we think that those are all legitimate and, in fact, you know, after any review will be proven to be. >> reporter: now, the woman who says that she was paid to lie about being a prostitute for senator menendez was supposed to have a court hearing today but it was pushed back until june 11th. the courts are hoping that senator menendez comes down to be a part of it but a spokesman

for the senator tells many he that he does not plan to come down to the dominican republic to attend that hearing. >> what a story that is. dana, thanks for that comprehensive report. a lot has happened over the last 11 days. dennis rodman cozied up to kim jong-un and the blood shed in syria spilled into neighborhood are boing iraq all the while the secretary of state john kerry has been traveling the state on this, his first official overseas trip. our jill dougherty had a chance to be with him on the trip and sat down with him in doha qatar. >> reporter: wolf, it's part of an overall plan. at the last stop on his 11-day nine-mission trip, john kerry

said, don't look for the united states to send weapons to syrian opposition fighters any time soon. the concern by the administration has been if you send arms to the syrian opposition, they would be diverted into the hands of the extremists. now, monday you said there's a very clear ability now -- >> a syrian opposition to make certain that what goes to the moderate, legitimate opposition is in fact getting to them. >> reporter: so if that's the case, then what is the problem? >> president always has options and has the right to adjust the policy as he goes forward. at the moment, this is the calibration that the president believes is correct to try to give the opportunity for a diplomatic solution. >> reporter: rebel fighters are already getting weapons from other countries, he said. >> you have to look at this wholistically and in the whole

it is having an impact. in the next weeks and months, our hope is that this ratcheting up can avoid the level of killing and provide a window of opportunity for president assad and the russians and iranians and others to get a negotiation that actually saves lives and provides a transitional government. >> reporter: kerry says that iran should be able to prove that their nuclear program is peaceful. >> lots of other countries have peaceful programs and prove it to the world. this should not be complicated. >> reporter: i also asked about former basketball player dennis rodman's trip to north korea. he is not a diplomat, as we know very well. it was a bit of a circus but would it be valuable on any level to talk with him find out what his impressions were? after call, he met with kim jong-un? >> i have great respect for dennis rodman as a basketball

player and as a diplomat he was a great basketball player. i think that this issue is an issue that needs to be dealt with government to government. >> reporter: and what about kerry's own new role as secretary of state? on almost every question he deferred to the president's views but insisted he's his own man. >> the president asked me not to come on to be a "yes" person. he asked me to come on to share my views, my thinking, my years of experience, and i don't think the president appreciates just "yes" people. >> reporter: john kerry heads back to washington on wednesday. he will brief the president on his trip and also on meetings that he had with more than 40 international leaders. wolf? >> jill dougherty, thanks very much. still ahead, much more on the breaking news we've been following. the venezuelan president hugo chavez is dead.

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we've been following the news that hugo chavez, the venezuelan president has died at the age of 58. that announcement comes about an hour or so ago from the vice president of venezuela, nichool madu maduro. we've been anxious to get some u.s. reaction from what's going on. gloria borger is here. you've been on the phone with folks, gloria. what have been you been hearing? >> i spoke with a senior administration official about this, wolf. and of course, he told me that this death has been highly anticipated. they've been following it for quite some time. they say their expectation is

that there will be a free, fair, and credible election in venezuela. they understand, of course, that ma dduro is the front-runner. and they say they're open to what one senior administration official called to me a more constructive relationship with the venezuelan government. they believe it is, quote, counterproductive to be at odds. and that's why this expulsion of these military attaches was not welcome news by the administration, wolf. >> did they say anything about whether or not the u.s. will send a high-level, mid-level, low-level representative to the expected state funeral of hugo chavez? >> no, we didn't talk about that. we talked about this, the expulsion of these military attaches -- >> they flatly deny that these attaches were an improper activity? >> and quite honestly, their interpretation of this is that maduro doing this is not a sign of strength, that they've lost a charismatic leader in chavez, and that they need to sustain

their party. so there was some sense that i got that there was a feeling in the administration that this was a way for maduro to kind of whip up some kind of nationalistic sentiment for his own politics in venezuela, in order to win an election -- >> because he was on television today for hours, at this news conference, makie ining stateme. presumably, sees this as an opportunity to try to get some support in this upcoming election. >> that's right. >> we just got a at the same tim time, gloria, on the death of hugo chavez. "hugo chavez was a destabilizing force in latin america and an obstacle to progress in the region. i hope his death provides an opportunity for a new chapter in u.s./venezuelan relations." that's very similar to what the obama administration's reaction is. >> it is. and this senior administration said to me, we would not be opposed to restoring some sort of diplomatic relations as well as having an ambassador over there, but i was told, we need

to see more than what we saw today from maduro in order to do that. the feeling in the administration is that they should not have to be at odds with venezuela, and they also believe that over the years, they have diminished chavez's stature by not engaging for him in kind of a tit for tat and i don't think they intend to do that right now. >> the u.s. and venezuela do have diplomatic relations, but not at the ambassadoral level. that could be upgraded. >> and what was made very clear to me is they're not going to take any bait over what occurred today. that they want these elections to be free and to be fair. >> because not only did they expel two u.s. diplomatic personnels, these military attaches, but they also accuse, quote, foreign enemies of plotting to poison hugo chavez, to give him a severe infection, and to create the cancer and

effectively to kill him. >> and they believe that's a sign of fear, not a sign of strength. >> stand by. we'll have much more at the top of the hour. we're following the news, hugo chavez is dead. so if ydead battery,t tire, need a tow or lock your keys in the car, geico's emergency roadside assistance is there 24/7. oh dear, i got a flat tire. hmmm. uh... yeah, can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!! well it's good... good for me. what do you think? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. thto fight chronic. osteoarthritis pain. to fight chronic low back pain. to take action. to take the next step. today, you will know you did something for your pain.

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happening now, breaking news. the death of a fierce u.s. adversary, evevenezuela is blam its enemies for the fate of hugo chavez. and a fierce storm plows through the midwest. will the east coast get snowed under? and jeb bush for president?

a cnn interview on the republican's future and his family's political dynasty. i'm wolf blitzer along with kate baldu balduan. you're in "the situation room." >> translator: at 4:25 in the afternoon today, on the 5th of march, the president hugo chavez passed away. >> that's venezuela's vice president, nicolas maduro, announcing the death of the president, hugo chavez, after losing a long fight with cancer. they never missed an opportunity to rail against the united states and its influence in the region, even until the very, very end. as he lay dying, venezuela expelled two u.s. embassy officials and suggested that chavez's enemies may have infected him, causing him to get cancer and die. our coverage this hour begins on

the scene at caracas. cnn's shasta darling is standing by. what's been the reaction so far? >> reporter: well, wolf, what we're really seeing is a kind of nervous tension. you know, as we've said, this is a polarized country. there are a lot of people, over 50% of the population, the voting population, at least, that really fervently supported chavez. but there are a lot of people that felt that he was tearing the country apart. that she was making it a more divided place. and neither side wants to see violence, but i think they also want to make sure that this delicate situation doesn't lead to that. so what you saw a lot of, there are people who are showing some outpourings of grief, but a lot of people who just want to get home. there's a lot of nervous tension here. this is a moment that a lot of people have been expecting very a while. they just dona't want to be out on the street, they don't want to see any clashes. this is a time for everyone to deal with this in their own personal way, wolf. >> the reaction on the streets, i take it, a lot of people are

mourning right now. there's a bitter division within venezuela over hugo chavez, but he did have a tremendous amount of support at the same time. >> reporter: absolutely, wolf. you know, just last week, there was a poll that showed that 57% of the population still thought that he was going to recover. and that's largely because they wanted him to recover. even though they hadn't been seen in public for almost three months, ever since he went to cuba, to get the cancer surgery. what they wanted was they wanted this charismatic leader, who'd led this socialist revolution and really reduced some of the class differences that had characterized this country. they wanted to see this man recover and come back and get into power. on the other hand, by reducing these class differences, chavez had also taken a lot of power and money away from a lot of people who were used to running this country. he also reduced some freedoms. a lot of the freedom of the

media, a lot of what people thought was political freedoms. he limited the options of a lot of the opposition. so, very polarized country and especially in recent weeks, with all of this confusion, these doubts about his health, people wondering who was really controlling the people. we've seen students take to the streets, demanding the truth. at the same time, his followers have camped outside the military, the military hospital, where he was being treated here, to show their support for him, wolf. >> certainly, that's a fair assessment. shasta darlington on the scene for us in caracas. stand by, shasta. kate balduan is here as well in "the situation room," watching what's going on. you're getting more. >> yeah. and the impact that hugo chavez had on that country, you can be sure the lasting impact, wolf, will be felt and debated for years and years to come. jim clancy is looking at the controversial leader's legacy. >> reporter: venezuela's hugo chavez melded populous politics,

socialism, and his own popularity with blow torch rhetoric. he relished being at the center of controversy. literal wonder his friends and foes read the chavez legacy in stark contrast. >> he's made venezuelans feel proud to be venezuelan again. and that is something, i think, that really no other leader has ever done in that country before. in fact, they were doing the opposite. >> well, unfortunately, chavez came into power in venezuela promising the people that had been left on the margins and ignored by the political class in that country a new opportunity to participate in the economy, to participate in decision making in the country. unfortunately, he's destroyed the economy and centralized all power in his hands, decimated the democratic institutions in the country and left venezuelan democracy in even worse shape. so it's a pretty negative

legacy. >> reporter: like castro and others, chavez's rhetoric often aimed at the united states or multi-national corporations. it invoked the promise of a socialist y isist utopia. but hugo chavez had what most other leftists did not -- oil. venezuela has among the largest oil reserves in the world. that allowed hugo chavez to offer up free education and health care in his own country. even cash-strapped americans in the bronx enjoyed his largess, with free heati ining oil in th dead of winter. the price of his socialist agenda, hugo chavez himself. term limits were abolished. even his critics admit he could have gone on winning elections indefinitely. his biggest failure may be his unilateral success. a legacy of one. before his death, critics said chavez was leaving venezuela in the control of narco traffickers.

>> unfortunately, chavez is already passing power to military folks who are -- really have criminal backgrounds, who, according to the u.s. government, are kingpins involved in narco trafficking. >> well, none of that has ever been proven. yes, there are accusations out there. the united states government has placed several high-level venezuelan officials on their own lists, where they say they've been involved in drug trafficking, but they've never presented evidence to back those accusations. >> reporter: hugo chavez himself called golinger venezuela's girlfriend for his staunch support. >> we're seeing a latin america that's much more unified and sovereign and independent than it was a decade ago, and this has to be credited to president hugo chavez. >> reporter: but critics like noriega say his alliances around the globe point a different picture. >> well, i don't want to engage in a lot of name calling. he says he was a mauist. he supported all of the fascist regimes in libya and iran and now in syria and and he, as they

say in spanish, i can tell you who you are when you tell me who your friends are. >> reporter: friends and foes, the chavez legacy is filled with both. jim clancy, cnn. >> jim clancy, thanks so much. i mean, we've been seeing reaction really pouring in, not only -- really, from around the world, but especially from all parts of washington. not only to hugo chavez's death, but also to venezuelan accusations the u.s. is plotting to overthrow chavez's government. >> and today the venezuelan government expelled two u.s. embassy officials. let's bring in our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr. she's washing the fallout. what are you seeing, barbara? >> well, wolf, kate, even as hugo chavez lay dying, the acting leader of the country took to the air waves to accuse two u.s. military officials of espionage. venezuela's vice president, nicolas maduro, announced a

military attache in the u.s. embassy in caracas had been expelled for plotting against the government. >> translator: the officers tried to get in touch with active military men in venezuela. first to investigate military forces and then to propose to them to destabilize venezuela. >> reporter: the pentagon identified the man as air force colonel, david del monaco. venezuela's foreign minister later said a second military attache was also expelled. the pentagon would only identity that man as devlin kostal, and said he had already been in the u.s. and won't be going back to venezuela. the u.s. denies the charge that any embassy officials were engaged in thought. chavez, a thorn in the side of the u.s. for years. >> translator: yesterday the devil came here. >> reporter: in 2006, he attacked president george w. bush. >> translator: yesterday, ladies

and gentlemen, from this, the president of the united states, the gentleman to whom i refer to as the devil. >> reporter: in 2009, chavez gave president obama a book on american abuse in latin america, when the two met for the first time at the summit of the americas. >> i think it was a nice gesture, to give me a book. >> reporter: but by 2010 -- >> translator: obama to me, until now, has been a great zploi disappointment. >> reporter: the u.s. has accused chavez of supporting radical movements in latin america and even hezbollah operatives. he's been a close ally of both cuba's fidel castro and iranian president, mahmoud ahmadinejad. chavez, experts say, always knew how to play all the sides. >> he, with one hand, he tries to be the eventual evolution of fidel castro. to the left and on the other hand, he tries to make nice, so

it looks like he is not so bad. >> reporter: now, already strained relations, with whatever the new administration might be in venezuela, the state department issuing a statement, "this fallacious assertion of inappropriate u.s. action leads us to conclude that, unfortunately, the current venezuelan government is not interested in an improved relationship." very tough words from the state department about the expelling of the attaches. but, look, venezuela remains an important economic partner for the u.s. about 500 u.s. companies are represented inside venezuela. wolf? >> barbara starr, thanks very much. we just got a statement, by the way, tough statement from the chairman of the house foreign affairs committee, ed royce. the chairman saying, among other things, hugo chavez was a tyrant, who forced the people of venezuela to live in fear. his death dents the alliance of

anti-u.s. leftist leaders in south america. good riddance to this dictator. that statement from ed royce, the chairman of the house foreign affairs committee. we're going to continue to watch this story, other news as well, continuing the worst snow in years, now pounding the midwest, heading for the east coast of the united states. so when will iten end. we have the forecast. much more news coming up right here in "the situation room." bright students are getting lost in the shuffle. and administration's work gets more complex every year. when you look at these issues, do you see problems or opportunities? with an advanced degree in education from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to meet these challenges and make a difference in the lives of students. let's get started at capella.edu. [ female announcer ] from tracking the bus. ♪ to tracking field conditions.

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brr, that's all i can say. a new blast of cold, wet misery, misery for many. millions of americans facing the heaviest snow this winter so far. >> it's bad and about to get worse, especially here. take a look at what's been going on in chicago. the wendy city could get 11 inches here on the east coast. it's not clear how bad it will get when the storm blows through tomorrow. our meteorologist, andrea steele, is standing by at the cnn weather center. let's go to ted rowlands. he's in chicago right now. ted, what's it like?

>> reporter: well, wolf, it has been snowing all day. the wind has picked up. basically, you asked what it's like, it's miserable. across the upper midwest, driving was treacherous as snow continued to fall throughout the day. salt trucks in chicago were out in force, trying to ke the freeways open before the evening commute. in some parts of north dakota and minnesota, more than a foot of snow is expected to fall. in menomonee, wisconsin, a semitruck fell into the red river, killing the driver and closing a portion of interstate 94 for hours. airports are struggling to keep planes flying. at o'hare, where about 900 flights have been canceled, the normally packed united terminal was near empty tuesday. fashion designer mark defang is trying to get home to charlotte to deal with a family emergency. >> they're saying it was canceled, so i got a ticket to fly, and it's canceled again. so now i have no idea which

flight i'm going to go on. so i'm going to ask them again. hopefully i get on the plane and go home. i want to go home badly. >> reporter: most schools and many businesses around chicago were closed tuesday. those that had to come into the city were having a tough time getting around. >> these main streets, they look okay, but when you go to the arterial streets, they are really bad. >> reporter: this is the third major storm to slam the midwest in as many weeks, while many people say they are ready for spring, a few people we met say they actually like this. >> i'm a skier, so what more can you ask? >> reporter: that guy's in the minority, for sure, wolf. in the midwest, this is the third storm in as many weeks. a lot of people are hoping that spring truly is just around the corner. wolf? >> it will get here, no doubt about that. ted, thank you. let's bring in our meteorologist, alexandria steele. she's at the cnn weather center. so where's the storm heading, alexandria?

>> well, ted said 6 inches already, the most they've seen since 2011. a few more inches for you. but this is the area of pressure moving this storm. it moves into the ohio valley tonight, and tomorrow, from midnight tonight until midnight tomorrow, it's a mid-atlantic snow player. that's when the washington snow show will go on. so we'll see it throughout the day tomorrow, and then on thursday, this area of low pressure moves to the north and east, and potentially, because it's a coastal storm, 1 to 2 slushy inches from bottom to new york. the track of this is a little hard to pinpoint at this point, once it becomes a coastal storm. but in terms of totals, there they go, 8 to 10 inches, perhaps, chicago through the ohio valley. and washington has the most interesting weather. we're going to see within the beltway, assuming this track is on the mark, we'll so 4 to 8 inches. 25 meals east of washington, say in annapolis, maryland, 1 to 3 inches of slushy snow, top. west of that, to dulles, the big airport west of town, 25 miles, we could see 15 to 20 inches of

snow. and then along this i-81 corridor, win chester, front royal, the elevated areas, 20 inches of snow potentially there. so that really will be an interesting storm while we watch it. here's the problem, it's the rain/snow line and this thing will track right along the 95 corridor. west of that, it's really an inland snowmaker. west of the big cities, it's a snow affair. east of it, we'll watch a rain/snow mix and see very heavy, wet snow and see the changeover, guys. so that will really be the difference. >> alexandra, thanks very much. we've got our boots and shovels and we're ready to go. >> we are ready to go. still ahead, an historic day on wall street. we'll tell you what's behind the dow's big jump to an all-time high. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thankyou card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? and with all the points i've been earning, i was able to get us a flight to our favorite climbing spot

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it's, a truly historic day on wall street today. >> it was a huge day. stock prices closed at an all-time high. the dow jones industrials gained more than 125 points, ending the day above 14,253, breaking a record set back in 2007. take a look at how the dow has been on the rise. back in mid-november, after the election, it was below 12,600, so what's driving this rally now? let's bring in our chief business correspondent, ali velshi. ali, this is your forte, definitely not mine. explain this to me. what is going on? >> i've got a slightly different version of the same chart that you just showed. today, it shows what's been driving this thing up. go back to march 9th, 2009. wolf will remember that day. we were talking and it ended up being the low of the market, after the financial crisis. all right, the financial crisis ended in june, but the market had already gone up by then. by october, believe it or not,

unemployment had hit 10%. but the market kept going up. had a rough time in 2010, and then by the end of 2010, it had ended higher, because in november, the fed had done the a second round of stimulus, pouring money into the economy, making interest rates lower. let's get through the end of 2011. this was the debt debacle. that really cost the market. but still, the end of 2011 was higher than the beginning. so you've got 2009, 2010, 2011. still strong markets. 2012, same thing. rough year, right around the middle, in september, we saw the fed coming in with what we called qe 3, yet more money. the fed is putting $85 billion into the economy every month. we were discussing with the forced budget cuts, taking out $85 billion over seven months in total. and here you go, toward the end. you see this big peak. where we topped what we did in 2007. here's the other line i want to show you. these are jobs. harder to see on tv, but take a look at this. we were losing 800,000 jobs in

the beginning of 2009. we started gaining jobs, all the way through the middle of 2010. that was census jobs. those went away and we lost jobs again through the second half of 2010. 2011, we'd largely built, 2013, we'd built, went down a little bit, went up again. this is the problem, this spread between job creation and the dow is what's making a lot of people think that the dow, the stock markets, are not reflecting the economic reality that so many people are feeling. and that's a fact. the dow is the stock market. most people think about jobs and gdp is the economy. it's not as strong as stock market performance is. >> is it just completely disconnected? you have these record highs, but the economy is still struggling. do you have to separate the two? the economy and the dow at this point? >> think about one things. stock markets tend to be leading indicators. they look six to nine months into the future. people are betting on next year's or later this year's earnings by the companies that they invest in. jobs tend to be a lagging

indicator. they tend to tell you what went on behind. if you believe in that sort of thing, you might say the stock market is telling us something i've been saying to you, kate, that the economy and the u.s. is actually improving. we have had more than 30 months of job growth, so the stock market might be saying, we think things are okay. remember one other thing. jobs are specifically u.s. the stock market, made up of 30 companies in the dow or 500 in the s&p 500, they get more of their income outside of the u.s. than they do inside of the was, and the rest of the world is actually looking pretty good, kate. >> all right. we'll wait and see just how long this rally lasts. ali velshi, thanks, man. up next, jeb bush sits down with our own jake tarpert and gets emotional at at one point.

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without any surprise fees. ♪ it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. the white house has just released a statement from president obama on the death of hugo chavez, the president of

venezuela. let me put it up on the screen and read it to you. this is from the president. "at this challenging time of president hugo chavez's passing, the united states reaffirms its support for the venezuelan people and its interest in developing a constructive relationship with the venezuelan government. as venezuela begins a new chapter in its history, the united states remains committed to policies that promote democratic principles, the rule of law, and respect for human rights." that statement just coming in from the president. first official statement from the u.s. government since the passing of hugo chavez, a couple of hours ago. >> that fits into the category of a measured statement, just as it should be at this moment. >> much more measured than some of the statements coming from capitol hill. >> absolutely, that we've been seeing. you're absolutely right, wolf. we're also seeing some early fallout, though, from the forced cuts in federal spending. a big story we've been following. the first furlough notices have gone out and we're told this one you're seeing on the screen right now is one of hundreds of letters the army has sent, warning us civilian workers will have to stay home without pay, one day a week, beginning in

late april. president obama seems to also be starting to feel the pinch politically. our national political correspondent, jim acosta, is at the white house this evening. those furloughs, jim, not unexpected, that's something that we've been expecting, leading up to the forced budget cuts. but what are you hearing at the white house this evening? >> well, kate and wolf, along with all of those programs of the federal government, the president's poll numbers are also facing some cuts and there are signs the white house is paying attention to that and perhaps changing its tactics. those forced budget cuts are about to hit home, as in, his home. the white house visitor's center has announced it is halting all of its tours, starting this weekend, indefinitely. >> due to staffing reductions resulting from sequestration, we regret to inform that white house tours will be stopped saturday, the 19th. >> that likely won't help president obama's approval numbers. according to the latest cnn poll of polls, just 48% of americans give a thumbs up to his job

performance, down from 52% since mid-february. as for who's to blame for the automatic cuts, a cbs news poll finds its almost even. 38% say republicans in congress, 33% say the president and democrats. but the white house cautions, it's seen polls go up and down before. >> before we say anything's clear based on one poll, can we just remember, just think back a few months, to the summer and fall of 2012, how we cautioned everyone to not suffer from anesthesia about, you know, the folly that comes from chasing one poll's results. >> reporter: still, after spending weeks touring the country to point the finger at republicans, the president now appears to be launching a charm offensive, calling a slew of gop senators, though not all of them. >> i expect the president to talk to various members. frankly, i wish he'd done more of that over the years. >> reporter: but republicans are still turning up the heat, questioning why the government just spent $50 million on new

uniforms for airport security screeners. others in the gop are mocking the administration's initial false statements on the cuts' impacts. >> president obama reminds me of the little boy who cried wolf. >> reporter: but democrats say the cuts are real, pointing to the health care program serving 9/11 first responders. >> i didn't see a single member of congress running into the burning towers that day. and yet, this congress has determined -- is determined, this republican congress is determined to cut those benefits. >> leaders on both sides say they're well aware the public is tiring of all-out budget chaos in the capital. >> it is not good for the country, for us to continue to go through this. >> americans are rightfully upset by the dysfunction they see in washington. >> reporter: which is why the white house and both sides, both parties here in washington, sound optimistic about a deal that may be coming soon on some kind of agreement to keep the government running for the next

six months, but there is some skepticism, at least on the republican side, about the president's attempts to reach out to the gop, in the last couple of days. one gop aid telling me, kate and wolf, that they hope that this is not just an attempt by the president to check some boxes. wolf and kate? >> checking boxes and photo ops happens on both sides. that's for sure. jim acosta, thanks so much. as the mess here in washington plays out, both parties are starting to think about 2016 and republican jeb bush says he's not ruling out a run for the white house. here's moreof jake tapper's interview with the former florida governor on presidential politics, his family, and the hot issue of immigration. >> your brother tried to push immigration reform. >> mm-hmm. >> your brother had a lot of skin in the game and i covered it on capitol hill. >> yep. >> what could he have done differently, if anything? >> man, he got to the two-yard line before there was a fumble. it had passed the house. it had 60 votes in the senate,

the magical number, and as i understand it, both the leadership in both parties kind of gave a pass to the freshman senators to say, look, if this is going to put you in a bad position in your election coming up, which would have been 2008, don't do it. >> this conversation has prompted a lot of speculation about what your plans might be in 2016. i know you haven't ruled anything out and you haven't announced anything either. >> right. >> what kind of factors will you be weighing in the next year as you make this decision? >> well, i'm not going to factor anything in a year. that's the on thing i've decided, which i think i have enough self-restraint to be able to pull off. which is to continue to pursue this hectic life that i have. i have an education reform foundation that is booming. i mean, it's -- we got all sorts of great things that we're working on. and i have my business and i have my family. so i'm not going to think about this for at least a year. >> but you'll make a decision some time in 2014. is that a fair assessment?

>> i don't know. the only thing i've decided is that i'm not going to think about it for 2013. it's -- it's just too far out for me, personally. >> reporter: you've been the son of a candidate, you've been the brother of a candidate, you've been a candidate yourself. now, it looks as though you will be the father of at least one candidate, with one son talking about maybe running for statewide office in texas, the other contemplating a possible congressional run in florida. >> it's amazing. >> what's it like being the papa of a candidate? >> now i know what my dad feels like, why he would get emotional every time he was like in a setting where george or i were, you know, in pursuit of some office of some kind. >> he would want to punch in the face people that went after his boys. >> he would cry first. so in the case of my son, i saw him -- i was in austin working on education reform issues in the capitol, and he spoke for five minutes prior, and wow, i

mean, no ums, no ahs, totally, credibly handsome, articulate, thoughtful, engaging -- >> very proud? >> oh, man. >> what about your other son? >> jeb is my partner in business and father of the most beautiful little girl in the world -- >> you're welling up a little bit, talking about your sons. >> yeah. and my daughter. family really matters. it's a big deal. i'm proud of both of them, i'm proud of my daughter as well. >> your father had a health scare recently. >> yeah. >> we're all glad he's out of the hospital and doing better. i'm sure this period, you're a baby boomer and we're now in a period where, unfortunately, that wonderful world war ii generation is leaving is us. >> it's really a powerful emotion to see the greatest man, the most vigorous man i've ever met in my life become frail. it's really, it's hard.

but he's handled it, you know, with incredible dignity and incredible humor, of course. that's my dad's new deal. and he's pretty inspiring in that regard. and my mother, which is something i think a lot of people struggle with as well, which is, or don't think about, which is the caregiver, you know, and a couple that have been together for -- my mom and dad have been married 69 years. the longest serving -- you know, the longest marriage for any president, ever. >> ever? is that right? >> yeah. >> 69 years. what is their secret? when you ask them, what do they say? >> it's just a, you know, consistent love. i would say about 40 years ago, i could be at a dinner table with my parents and they could talk without talking. you ever see that experience with your parents, you know, where they can talk by looking at each other, by expressions. it's a, kind of a higher, elevated love. and i -- you know, i've been

married now 39 years and i've begun to kind of have that same feeling -- my wife and i have a similar kind of secret communication too. it's just a bond that you have over the long haul. >> and jake tapper is joining us, once again. jake, saw a little different side of jeb bush right there. he got pretty emotional. were you surprised? >> i was not surprised that he got emotional. i was surprised that he got emotional when talking about his children. i kind of thought that he would be more emotional, though he was, plenty emotional talking about his father, in the same interview. but when he was talking about the pride that he felt in george p. bush, in jebby bush, in his daughter, his eyes did well up very noticeably. >> they certainly did. let's talk about the possibility. is it possible, is it realistic to assume, people are asking, a third bush president of the united states? what do you think? >> i think it is certainly

possible. i mean, heal would come to the table with a lot of possibility when it comes to fund-raising. his brother obviously was able to do that very, very well. and jeb bush would have access to a lot of that, those same donors. he is very much a candidate of the establishment. and obviously, from a very populist state that president obama won twice, the sunshine state of florida. that said, i would not say that the energy is, right now, a establishment candidate. right now, you see -- you hear from the republican rank and file, they are more excited about a more conservative candidate. of course, that does not necessarily mean that the more conservative candidate, whether it's rand paul, the senator from kentucky, or ted cruz, the republican senator from texas, that does not mean that that person would win, because, obviously, having the establishment behind you, as mitt romney showed, can really help you get the nomination. >> but as jeb bush himself says, he's not even thinking about this year. we'll see if he starts thinking

about it next year. jake, thanks so much. >> thank you, wolf. >> that was a great interview that he had with jake right there. that was great. still ahead, more on hugo chavez's death. coming up next, larry king interviewed chavez when he came to the u.s. and larry king is going to join us live. don't want to make money. i love making money. i try to be smart with my investments. i also try to keep my costs down. what's your plan? ishares. low cost and tax efficient. find out why nine out of ten large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal. saved like $480 bucks. that's a lot of money. i know, right? wait...you have a car? yeah, an suv. [ male announcer ] switch and you could save $480 bucks with state farm.

back to the breaking news this hour. the death of venezuelan strong man, the leader of the country, hugo chavez. >> let's talk a little bit more about that with a longtime member of the cnn family who interviewed chavez within the last few years. we're talking about our own larry king. larry is currently the host of larry king now on hulu and aura tv.

larry, i'll play a little clip. this is when you interviewed lugo cieu hugo chavez back in 2 right here on cnn. >> do you expect it to be better with president obama? of course, you called him. you said there are two obamas what do you mean? >> translator: i explained this already. we have an obama that talks about peace yesterday to sponsor peace, to promote peace, as one of the pillars of his foreign policy. i accept this calling and we join him in this calling for peace. however, there is another obama, the one who approved the installation of seven military bases. that's another obama. the obama sponsoring war, using force and depressants of military officers and using the

u.s. weaponry against the latin america. we want the obama of peace. >> what did he think, larry, about the president, president obama? we know he called the former president, george w. bush, the devil. but what did he really think about president obama? >> i think he was honest. i think he was mixed on him. he's an enigma, guys. very interesting character. first, he can speak english. he chose to do the interview interpreted. that was a hectic day for me, wolf. i taped ahmadinejad in the wolf, did chavez in the afternoon, and moammar gadhafi at night. all three in the same day, were here for the u.n. i followed that up right away, talking about bush. he said that bush, the reason he called him evil was that bush tried to assassinate him. and he said he had proof -- that he had proof. venezuelans confessed to him that they were part of an assassin team. he was kind of paranoid, wolf. he had many facets to him. he liked to sing, he was a crazy

american baseball fan, but he was very defensive. he didn't trust hillary clinton, he didn't trust america. he was unlike other leftists, he was not anti-religious. he said he was a practicing catholic. he believed in jesus christ. he was a very convoluted figure to me. there were many facets to chavez. i think he was, in many sense, a failed leader in his country, but he sure -- he was very defensive. >> what kind of insights did you gain into hugo chavez, the person? i mean, he's known as a larger than life figure, but when you had the opportunity to interview him, what struck you about him? >> reporter: he was the kind of guy, he was larger than life. he was huggable. had he been an american republican or democrat, he'd have been an elected official. he had a way, he generated a positiveness about him. he was very engaging. the crew liked him.

you know, the people around him liked him. you could tell that the people working with him liked him. he was effusive. you know, a lot of things he said i thought were incredible. he thought that there was definitely a holocaust in israel, but on the other hand, he thought israel was a menace to other nations. so he was all over the board. but it was a fascinating hour. i mean, he was a fascinating guy to be around. i would have loved to have done him again. >> quite a trifecta that day. >> i know. >> gadhafi, ahmadinejad, hugo chavez. you're not surprised that today the vice president of venezuela accused what he called foreign enemies of poisoning hugo chavez, in effect, creating a severe infection and cancer to kill him. that came from the vice president of venezuela today. >> reporter: maybe, wolf, maybe obama has a cancer drone. >> i don't think so. >> all right, larry, larry king, great to have you back here in "the situation room".

>> good to talk to you. >> my pleasure. >> thanks, larry. speaking of drones, there are new concerns about the danger of drones closer to home. an aircraft lake this may have come shocking close to a passenger plane at jfk airport in new york. we have details. [ male announcer ] when you wear dentures you may not know

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more reaction is coming in to the death of venezuelan president hugo chavez. brian todd is outside the venezuelan embassy in washington, d.c. what are you hearing? >> reporter: kate and wolf, not a lot of human activity out here right now. the flag as you can see at the venezuelan embassy is lowered to the lowest point on that pole over there. a couple people have come by in recent hours to put flowers at the steps of the embassy.

one young man just a few moments ago laid a single yellow tulip on the steps of the embassy. venezuela has no official diplomatic relations with the united states right now so there's no ambassador here, but an official of the venezuela embassy did just step out and spoke with me off camera a few moments ago. this official did not want to go on camera because of the nature of the relationship but this official told me, i asked her about just any color she could give me around -- about the circumstances around the president's death, who was with him. she said she believes at least two of his daughters were there. he has three daughters and a son. she believes at least two of his daughters were with him. he was at the hospital at the time he passed. he does have a grandson. this official was not quite sure whether the grandson was with him or not. president chavez was married twice, divorced twice. neither of his former wives were there, according to this official. i asked her about the timetable for elections. she said elections will be held. they're not sure of a timetable yet. of course, president chavez

wanted the vice president to succeed him. unclear if that's going to happen. i asked her about some of that. she said we're just not sure of any kind of timetable now for elections. so a little bit of color from an official at the venezuelan embassy. >> did you get any reaction from this official to some of the statements that we've heard from inside and outside washington? they've ranged from a very measured toned statement coming from the president of the united states but on the flipside, there have been some harsh statements coming out from some members of congress. one, chairman of the house foreign affairs committee saying good riddance to the dictator in his statement. any reaction to that? >> reporter: no, not really. you know, i corresponded with people at the venezuelan embassy over the past several years. at this time, she really didn't want to speak about any of that little about the personal circumstances. they are very cognizant here at the embassy and have been for several years that i have been dealing with them of the contentious relationship hugo

chavez had with american officials. i just got a sense from this official this evening, this was not the time to deal with any of that. >> brian todd, thanks very much. one quick clarification. the u.s. and venezuela have diplomatic relations but not right now at the ambassadorial level. we'll see if that relationship improves now that hugo chavez is dead. much more on the breaking news, the death of the venezuelan president, at the top of the hour on "outfront." we'll be right back. and you'll p your old duster. but don't worry, he'll find someone else. ♪ who's that lady? ♪ who's that lady? ♪ sexy lady, who's that lady? [ female announcer ] swiffer 360 dusters extender cleans high and low, with thick all around fibers that attract and lock up to two times more dust than a feather duster. swiffer gives cleaning a whole new meaning. and now swiffer dusters refills are available with the fresh scent of gain. and now swiffer dusters refills are available google's backyard for the wbing it on challenge.. [fight bell: ding, ding] what's your preferred search engine? search engine, uhh, probably google.

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ever wonder how you would react if you suddenly saw someone else in trouble? >> oh, yeah, absolutely. a video that's gone viral is raising that very question. here's cnn's jeanne moos. >> reporter: set up a hidden camera, get one actor to pretend to strangle another with an electrical cord, then ask what would you do if you walked into a murder in progress? scream bloody murder? it's the latest viral video from an agency called think moto. the creators say out of about 110 people, around 20% actually tried to stop the strangulation. beating with a bou